Red Cabbage Kimchi
“Oooh, this one’s gooooooood,” I caught myself saying out loud when I first tasted this tangy, spicy delight. While in some ways it is a traditional kimchi, the first thing that sets it apart is the use of red cabbage (or purple cabbage if you prefer to call it that). Red cabbage is packed with vitamin C and other nutrients that you don’t find in green cabbage or the traditional napa cabbage commonly used for kimchi. I used more spices too: Fresh garlic, ginger, onion and turmeric to go along with the red pepper flakes.
I also chose to salt the veggies as is commonly done with sauerkraut rather than make a brine more typical to kimchi. Just wanted to try something new as I like to experiment and it came out so well I’ll definitely do it again.
I very much like this one and think you will too. Simple to make and even easier to eat.
Red Cabbage Kimchi
Ingredients
- 3 lbs red cabbage
- 8 ounces diakon radish
- 2 Tbsp salt
for spicy paste
- 2 Tbsp fresh ginger
- 1 Tbsp fresh turmeric (or 1 tsp turmeric powder)
- 1/4 cup red pepper flakes
- 2 medium cloves garlic
- 1/3 medium onion
Instructions
- Prepare the cabbage and daikon - Lightly wash the cabbage or peel off the outer leaves if they look a little distressed If you don’t remove any leaves, clean the outside of the cabbage gently. Slice the cabbage into strips approx 1/4″ wide. (the size isn’t that important, as it’s more of an aesthetic decision that anything else). Gently wash the daikon and cut it into strips about 1/4″ x 1/8″ x 1 1/2″. Again, the exact size is more of an aesthetic choice.
- Toss with salt - Red Cabbage Kim Chi-3Place the cabbage and daikon in a large bowl and toss with the salt. If the quantity of you cabbage and daikon which you use is different, the salt ratio is approximately 1 Tbsp salt for each 1 1/2 lbs of veggies. See Measuring and Using Salt in Fermentations. Let it sit for an hour or so and toss a few times.
- Prepare the spice paste - Take the ginger, turmeric, garlic, red pepper flakes and onion and mince and combine. I find mixing pastes such as this are easier In a food processor (I use this food processor), but a good old fashioned knife and cutting board works just fine.
- Add in spices - Once the cabbage and daikon have sat with the tossed salt for an hour or so, combine with the spice paste. Mix well to distribute evenly.
- Place everything in fermenting vessel - Take all ingredients from the bowl including the liquid which may be pooling at the bottom and place in your fermentation vessel. If you’re looking for one, I personally recommend this fermentation crock. For a lower cost option, I’ve also used 1 gallon glass cookie jars.
- Compress - Compress the ingredients in the vessel by pressing down with your fist or one of these pounders which I've really come to love. Your goal is to have the liquid rise to more than cover the ingredients. Place a weight on top of the ingredients. If you use a fermentation crock, then it should come with it’s own weights. If you use the cookie jar approach, you can take a large bottle filled with water and use it as a weight or fill a plastic bag with water (be sure it doesn’t leak first). If the liquid doesn’t yet rise up sufficiently to cover the vegetables, don’t fret just yet. Just give it some extra time, perhaps up to 8 hours or overnight. Compress again. If the liquid still doesn’t cover it add some water and mix it all up good so the already dissolved salt is well distributed. The more fresh your ingredients are, the more liquid will naturally leach from the veggies.
- Cover - The point of covering it is to keep germs and molds from entering your ferment, while still allowing the ferment to breathe. You don’t ever want to cover a ferment tightly until you jar it up and put it in the fridge.
- Wait impatiently - Leave it to ferment for about 3-4 weeks. Other kimchis can take less time to ferment, but the longer ferment is important when working with fresh garlic, ginger, turmeric and onion. If you taste it occasionally through the fermentation period, you’ll see how the intensity of those spices settles down over time. The tartness from the cabbage can develop over time too which helps make the overall flavor more complex and appealing. Be cautious to always use clean hands and limit the amount of time the lid is off during your tasting forays as you don’t want to introduce mold spores or other microorganisms.
- Jar it up
- Refrigerate - This helps to significantly slow the fermentation.
Nutrition Facts
Red Cabbage Kimchi
Serves: 24
| Amount Per Serving: | ||
|---|---|---|
| Calories | 22.94 kcal | |
| % Daily Value* | ||
| Total Fat 0.14 g | 0% | |
| Saturated Fat 0.03 g | 0% | |
| Trans Fat 0.0 g | ||
| Cholesterol 0.0 mg | 0% | |
| Sodium 160.93 mg | 6.7% | |
| Total Carbohydrate 5.35 g | 1.7% | |
| Dietary Fiber 1.58 g | 4% | |
| Sugars 2.59 g | ||
| Protein 1.0 g | ||
| Vitamin A | Vitamin C | |
| Calcium | Iron | |
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet. Your daily values may be higher or lower depending on your calorie needs.
Fermentation Recipes
Serving Suggestions
This ferment is nice served as a simple side dish with asian or rice dishes. Next time you go to your refrigerator with the munchies, take a fork with you and pop open a jar and nibble away while you’re trying to figure out what else you might want to eat.
As I often do, I suggest making a lot and then giving it away by the jar. I made a double batch of this which made some of my friends happy. These little bacteria give so much to our fermentations, it’s only fitting that we do the same for our loved ones!
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I just got my set up for fermentation and look forward to trying this out. I’m new to this and really like what you have done in getting these recipes out in you e-mails to me. keep up the great work and please keep sending those e-mails to me.
The Old MARINE SEMPER FI
This one sounds really good. As I read it, I’m sipping brine from a September 2015 batch that’s just about gone. I don’t recall exactly what’s in it, but it’s not quite like your recipe above. I’m happy to get more interesting recipes in your emails. I gotta try this one!
good luck!
After tossing with salt, should you rinse the cabbage/radish?
No need to rinse. Let the salt remain throughout the fermentation processs. Good luck!
You say ‘red pepper flakes’ but you call it kimchi cabbage. Are you using regular red pepper flakes or korean red pepper flakes? The quantity makes me think it’s the latter but I do have both. Thanks!
I’m using Korean Red Pepper flakes. Judging heat in a recipe is always a little tricky since there can be such a variation in the heat in different peppers. Welcome and good luck!
Thanks for the quick reply! I’m making it right now and have another question.
The ingredients say you’re using 3.5lbs veg. Even trimmed and chopped let’s say 3lbs prepared plus 1.5 Tbsp of salt.
But the ratio you give in the recipe is 1 tbsp for every 1.5lb of veg (which is what I normally use for sauerkraut). If that were the case then you should be using 2 tbsp not 1.5.
This might seem pedantic to some but the salt ratio is important and as you point out, this is a different type of kimchi by leaving all the salt in, so I want to get it right.
Thanks for your help!
Thanks Lulu, you’re awesome! I’ve updated the recipe to say 2 Tbsp salt rather than one.
I love to “wait impatiently” for these incredible fermented veggies!
I was just eating some of this out of my fridge the other night. So good. Good luck!
Hi”Ted”. I’ve never fermented or pickled anything from scratch, I just put veggies in previous juices in the store bought plastic jars the kimchi or pickles came in after finishing what was in the jars. Usually they’re plastic jars and as long as there’s juices left I add many things and put them in the fridge. Is that okay to do with red cabbage?
I suppose that’s fine, Sonya. Just so you know, there are a few stages in the fermentation process where, as the ferment progresses, the predominant strain of bacteria present changes as well. The final stage bacteria are different from the early stage bacteria. You may simply be “pickling” your ingredients in the more acidic brine of the previous batch rather than truly fermenting, especially since you are placing directly in the refrigerator which significantly slows any fermentation process. As basketball players say sometimes, “no harm, no foul,” but it may not really be a fermented product you are creating.
Hi, I would like to try this recipie but I have 2 questions. 1. How many cups do you expect to have from 3 lbs of cabbage. I have no idea how much my cabbages weigh. and 2. Is the Daikon radish essential? I get a CSA box and have lots of cabbage which is why I want to make kimchi. oh and a 3rd question – can I use powdered garlic and powdered ginger?
thanks so much.
You’ll get about 5 cups of kimchi from 3 pounds of cabbage. Daikon radish isn’t essential, but I do enjoy including it.
Looking forward to trying.
Do you think I could substitute a radish or turnip for diakon?
I don’t see why not. It will simply change the flavor a little. You could get by entirely without the daikon as well. Fermenting tends to be rather flexible.
Hi, I’m making your recipe at the moment, what /how do you suggest to cover the jar with please?
i am on a low salt diet. I just made some kimchi for the first time today. Using about a pound of ordinary cabbage 8 ounces of carrots 2 medium onions. Grated garlic and ginger. Fish sauce 2 red hot peppers. Tablespoon of sugar. Some chilli flakes. I used a quarter cup of salt soakd the cabbage for a couple of hours then I rinsed it 3 times. After pushing it down I put some water on the top. In a minute I’ll go and stir it all up after reading what you said. The jar it it is in is only half full. Probably going to go to the supermarket tomorrow and get something put on the top to press it down. The recipe says 1 to 5 days before refrigerating I think I’m going to leave it five days. Then two weeks in the fridge. I might see if I can put a plastic bag of water on the top too.
I’m not sure where you are seeing the 1-5 days. My suggestion in this Red Cabbage Kimchi recipe is 3-4 weeks fermentation time and then put it in the refrigerator.
You seem to be referencing a different recipe. When I read your ingredients, I see very little cabbage in relation to the other ingredients. The carrots and onion won’t release quite as much liquid as cabbage will. If the liquid doesn’t rise above, even under pressure, I’d suggest just adding a little brine to the jar and mix it up and leave it there. Best of luck.
Can you use napa cabbage with red cabbage?
Sure, no problem combining the two. Good luck!
What size crock is best for this recipe?
Probably a 5-6 liter crock would be a good choice for this. Good luck!
what do you use to cover while fermenting? cheesecloth? loose fitting lid?
If using a crock, then cover with the crock lid. If using a mason jar, then an airlock screwed to the top is best. If simply using a glass jar, then covering with a tightly woven cloth is best. The basic concept is to prevent molds and yeasts from landing on you ferment.
what about Poblano or banana peppers instead of daikon?
You can always get creative and see what happens. I love thst about fermentation. It tends to be so forgiving.
fermenTed- Thanks for the inventive and clearly explained recipe. Unfortunately 10 days into the fermentation my kimchi started getting moldy, despite the fact that I did not remove the lid (e.g., to taste) after initially covering. Any ideas on why this happened and how to avoid such a fate in the future? Thanks!
The bottom line is that somehow mold spored got into your ferment and grew. If your lid was on and it was a true airlock, then the mold spores must have been present before you covered it. Mold grows on the surface generally so perhaps some of your ingredients were exposed to the air rather than under the liquid? Feel free to reply and let us know more details about your fermenting vessel and lid and whether all ingredients were submerged.
Hello! I’ve come home after a few days away to find there are a few patches of bubbles on the surface of my kilner jar of kimchi (only a week since bottling). I suspect this is fine and just an effect of the fermentation, but wanted to check with you.
Bubbles generally reflect an active fermentation and as such aren’t usually a problem. Mold is the main culprit you want to keep an eye out for. As always I can’t formally diagnose from afar. Use your best judgment. Kimchi can be pretty tasty after just a week when active so give yours a nibble and see how you like it!
Thanks so much for your reply. It’s still looking good but I’ve put it in the fridge now for a slow fermentation. Unfortunately the other little jam jar pot has gone mouldy, so I’ll have to ditch that one. It was just what I couldn’t fit in the main one, so not a disaster.
On my first ever batch of what I hope to be tasty Kimchi. Followed your recipe with 1 head red cabbage. Used 1 tablespoon sea salt to 1.50 lbs vegtables. I am using a 2 gallon cookie jar with loose fitting lid but also have a plastic bag with water on top of mixture to form a good seal. It all appears to be submerged in liquid. It has been 1 week and it seems not much is going on. It is in basement at about 55 degrees. I have not bothered it, just letting it hopefully do its thing. I was told I should be smelling the gases by now.
Hey Doug, I wouldn’t worry about what appears to be a slow fermentation with your kimchi. Some folks in Korea and other places actually bury their kimchi in urns to keep temps cool to make for a slower fermentation and ultimately storage. The cooler temps you are working with will undoubtedly slow things down. It may take a month or longer at that temp but your own taste buds will know.
I put one together today, and I liked the taste even before it could start to ferment. Getting Nappa Cabbage is tough, and I buy lots of green/red cabbage for 2 Kraut recipes. I keep Kosher, and it’s hard to get a non-fish fish-sauce, but this recipe is Sans-Fish-Sauce.
I made some changes based on the ingredients available:
1) 1/2 cup of Korean Chili Flakes plus 12 Jalapenos. (Some like it hot!)
2) Radishes instead of Dikon.
3) 1 small red onion, and lots of scallions.
4) Shitaki Mushroom Powder (from Japan) for the Unami flavor that Fish-Sauce would provide.
5) 1 head red cabbage, 1 head green cabbage (I like to see the ingredients, which is hard with all red cabbage).
Thank you Michael, that’s sounds terrific. I love the idea of the shiitake mushroom powder. Clever! Jalapeños too. Love how you think!
Thanks for this recipe! It’s my first time trying out fermenting.
Like you advised, I had to add extra water to my mix before leaving it to ferment as When compacting the cabbage mix down it just didn’t release enough water to cover the mixture.
How is the kimchi supposed to look after 3 weeks? Is it supposed to be soft cabbage pieces, covered in a watery brine? Sorry I’m just worried mines going to be really watery when serving! Or do you just drain off the liquid before you serve? Thanks for your advice in advance!
Once it’s no longer under the pressure of a weight, the liquid level should retreat to under the surface. If it’s kind of swimming in brine without the weight, I’d guess you added too much liquid. You could definitely drain it off.
I’m a week in to the fermentation and the liquid seems to have reduced. Should I top up with water or leave?
Hi Fay. It’s important that the cabbage remain under liquid. I’d start by opening and applying pressure to the weight on top of your ferment and seeing if that sufficiently raises the liquid level. If it doesn’t you can add a little water if necessary. I’d probably add a touch a salt to the water you add as well. Good luck!